As the star of seven cartoons commissioned by government departments to
communicate important information about the new Labour government's legislative
reforms, Charley (1946-1948), the cartoon character designed by Joy Batchelor,
became the familiar face of official propaganda in the postwar era. Endowed with
an average man-on-the-street's everyday charm, he had popular appeal and his
habitual cheeky ripostes to authoritative commentary served to anticipate and,
it was hoped, overcome the British public's characteristic scepticism about
government-imposed changes.

Here, Halas and Batchelor's customary vibrant action sequences and polished
storytelling are called upon to communicate the complex workings of the
government's new National Health Service and the result is an immensely
intelligible and entertaining piece of propaganda. The film is simply
structured, with the majority of screen time taken up with Charley cycling
through the streets of his neighbourhood while challenging the commentator's
announcements about the new public health system. His route from A to B is
hindered by hypothetical 'what if' sequences as suggested by the commentator
("Suppose you fall off your bike," or "Suppose your wife falls ill suddenly"),
the enactment of which affords entertaining visual comparisons of the present
system with the new 'free' system. Animation's power of illusion is further
exploited in a succession of imaginary health-threatening scenarios, which are
depicted in faded colour to differentiate them from the film's 'real' events.
The beautifully choreographed slapstick action, characteristic of popular Disney
or MGM cartoons, injects a freshness and immediacy into the dissemination of
important official information to the masses.

Before the NHS Act came into effect, being ill meant daunting healthcare
bills for great swathes of the population. Mrs Charley's dour quip 'We mothers
can't afford to be ill' is a resonant reminder of what life must have been like
without free health care and the difference that the arrival of the NHS made to
people's lives.